Thursday, February 19, 2009

Every now and then I will look at a situation and draw my own conclusion to it. My comments might be right, they may be wrong...

Every Thursday I go along to an early morning Bible study, called S.O.A.P group. Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer. Today we touched on some of the passages in the book of Leviticus with regard to certain sins of the body. During the discussion we started talking about the current global financial crisis as well as the impact of the bail out that was passed and signed into passage this week.

What struck me as an interesting sidebar note was that in essence when the bill was signed by President Obama, in theory and for all practical intent and purpose he took upon his shoulders the ownership of the bill, the nation's debt and the proposed plan to get the economy back on track. I am not going to go into any finger pointing here, but in light of these developments I have to wonder a few objective points;

1. Where is all this money coming from?2. Who is really going to benefit from it?3. Who is ultimately accountable for it's equitable distribution?4. Who is going to pay for it?5. How long will this cycle last?

I know this is a time in all of our lives that we have not planned for, there was no instructional operators manual, and yet we all are having to make some life crunching decisions with regard to the present and the future. What really dawned on me is the possibility that the responsibility of the entire bail out long term is going to fall on the shoulders of the next generation. Who is that? That is our children! They are being thrust into a scenario that they had no part in deciding.

It is a concern to me as parent. I have to think in real terms about the repercussions of the current global morbid financial crisis. An entire nation filed bankruptcy at the close of 2008. Banks have collapsed, industry leaders are scaling back, large corporations are folding. At the end of January we lost 598000 jobs, this trend has set the precedent since September. Alarming don't you think?

So, during our S.O.A.P meeting this morning, we concluded that whilst the situation is indeed dire, we do have a responsibility as the leaders of our homes and families. We have the ability in the midst of the storm to go to the One who actually does have all the answers. And whilst we know that we are on the edge of a long haul, we do draw a comfort and strength from knowing that we can go boldly to the throne of grace, and He promised to meet us there in that place and answer us. Of equal importance is the need to educate our children (no matter how old they are) on financial wisdom and how to plan for the road ahead. We can't afford to have our children walking aimlessly into the storm that is awaiting them, and so to be forewarned is part of the multifaceted solution of which Christ has to be the foundation. I don't mean we have to be walking talking Bibles now, but I do advocate educating our children with Godly principles and wisdom so that when we are no longer present they will have a strong foundation to work off.

I often wonder if there is this amount of stress in the world today - what more going through all of this without the Lord?

Here comes one of my twists...

For the longest time I have wanted to have an online e-commerce website. As many of you know, the printing industry has been my mainstay for 24 years. I have watched this trade change in massive ways since 1985. I still remember during my apprenticeship using chemicals that today are outlawed across the globe. Flammable material that given the right combination of science and creativity would be dangerous in the wrong hands! The printing industry today has made massive leaps forward in achieving high standards that compliment the environment and protect certain aspects of the echo system. To that end, and in view of wanting to take a hold of information technology and exploit it, I have embarked on fulfilling that vision and goal. I have partnered with a facility that exists on both the east coast and west coast of the United States, and will soon offer the exact same service fulfillment internationally to clients wanting to use our facility and take advantage of our "GO~GREEN" echo friendly service. As an incentive going green when you use our online ordering system you will be assured of better pricing, higher standards in quality and service truly second to none. You will be able to place your order, send me your artwork, or upload your own, pay for the printing and shipping all in one easy simplified process.

Many people may think this is the wrong timing for such a venture. Sure it might be. I am not a good gambler, I have taken some pretty wild chances in life, and have lived through a few that have made for great stories around a dinner table. I am inviting you along on this adventure, and want to share with you that the bigger picture to having this fully functional stand alone e-commerce facility is intended to grow to the extent that funds can be channeled to ministry. Those of you that know this family will know that part of our heart is tied to Africa, and how else do we empower a vision to become reality other than to actually put shoulders to the plow, and begin working the field so that promised harvest can be gathered.

This is the plow that I desire to put my shoulder to...and I know that in time the harvest will come!

So when the new site goes live, I will be sending out the URL for you to stop by and browse, take a look at it and encourage your corporate office, headquarters, office manager, purchaser to take a look at our list of products which will continue to grow through 2009.

I believe this is called positioning for success. Do I want to be wealthy? No! But I do definitely want to be one of the tiny gears in the big machine that facilitates spiritual growth and security in the things of the Lord, enabling those who are called to do the work, to have the means - partner with me...